Adjustable inspector plate for dimension gaging and assorting machines



June 17, 1947. J. A. COOK ADJUSTABLE INSPECTOR PLATE FOR DIMENSION GAGING AND ASSORTING MACHINES Filed Dec. 51, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 "wi l"v IN INVENTORQ JUOSOA/ A. coax W A770 EYS J. A. COOK June 17, 1947.

ADJUSTABLE INSPECTOR PLATE FOR DIMENSION GAGING AND ASSORTING MACHINESFiled Dec. 51, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR. JUDSO/V 14. COO Y ATTORNEYSPatented June 17, 1947 ADJUSTABLE INSPECTOR'PLATE FOR DI- MENSION GAGINGAND ASSORTING MA- CHINES Judson A. Cook, Bridgeport, conn assignor toRemington Arms Company, Inc'., Bridgeport, Y 001111., a corporation ofDelaware Application December 31, 1943, Serial No. 516,330

4 Claims.

1 The present inventionrelates to a gauging apparatus, and particularlyto a device adapted for the gauging of ammunition components. In

the quantity production of ammunition, it is necessary to gauge thevarious parts of a cartridge case such as the depth of the primer in aprimer pocket, the thickness of the head of a cartridge, the diameter ofthe head, the diameter of the groove, etc. The dimensions of acartridge, especiaily of the small arms variety, must be within certainallowable tolerances so that the cartridge will function in all gunswhich are also manufactured to a given tolerance.

The present improvement in gauging apparatus is especially useful in anautomatic gauging machine of the type disclosed in the patent to Z. P.Candee, No, 1,783,404, granted December 2, 1930. In this patent, thegauging apparatus depends on the registry of the end of a gauging leverand an aperture in a movable inspector plate. The present invention hasas one of its objects the provision of an inspector plate which may beeasily adjusted so as to set the machine for any given tolerance or sizeof a cartridge. These and other objects of the invention will becomeapparent from the following drawings and description;

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a gauging machinehaving a gauging inspector of the present invention incorporatedtherein.

Fig. 2 is a vertical view partially in section, taken generally alongthe line 22 of Fig. ,1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation partially in section, of theadjustable gauging plate shown in Figs. 1 and 2. i

Fig. 4 is an end View of the gauging plate of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an end view of the plate of Fig. 4 and shows in dotted linesone of the adjusted positions thereof.

Fig. 6 is an end View of a plate similar to Fig. 4 and shows in dottedlines another of the methods of adjusting said plate.

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary elevation of a link pivot.

The gauging machine illustratedis an example of one type of machinewherein the gauging plate of the present invention can be used. Thismachine automatically gauges or inspects the articles guidedtherethrough and usually includes a series of successively arrangedguiding or inspection stations for performing various gauging opera.tions, each station including an automatic ejection means whereby thearticles failing to meet the gauging standard of the station areejected.

In this manner, the substandard articles are segregated into groups, onefor each gauging test, and the standard articles are carried through themachineand discharged into a conveniently arranged receptacle. For thepurposes of this description, sub-standard articles are articles whichare above or below the tolerances allowed for a standard article.

' The gauging machine consists generally of a bed plate iii having fixedthereon a longitudinally extending table ll, provided with an abutmentbar i2, against which the bullet end of a, cartridge can engage. Som ofthe stations, such as the ones gauging diameters, can have the bar l2cut away. There are one or more track guides l3 and It upon which thecartridges roll for transfer between the several inspection stations.The cartridges are fed to the machine on the guide plate l5 and areintermittently moved along the guide bars l3 and M in spaced relation tothe gauging stations by transfer bars it. As the cartridges are beinggauged, pivoted holders I! are operated to move downwardly and engage acartridge thereunder to hold the cartridge in place, ready for thegauging operation. While the cartridge is held, the carrier bars movebackwardly to their former position for the next feed movement.

The gauging mechanism is carried'on the reoi procable slides l8 and I9,said slides having lateral movement toward and away from the table inslideways 29. Slide I3 is reciprocated by link 2!, which is connected tothe rock arm 23, said arm being oscillated by cam 25. Slide [9 isreciprocated by link 22 which is moved by the rock arm 24, which, inturn, is oscillated by cam 26. Rock arms 23 and 24 are maintained incontact with their cams by springs 21 and 28 respectively.

If desired, a suitable adjusting means may be employedfor links 2! and22, such as an eccentrically mounted bushing (Fig. 7), whereby theeffective length of the link may be varied. The 7 link 10 has anaperture ll with a bushing 12 therein. Hole 13, which engages the pin14, is off center so that by turning the bushing 12 in aperture ii, therelative length of the link can be changed. Set screw it is provided tolock the bushing in place.

Guide block 29 is carried by slide [9, said guide block serving as aguide for the inspector slide 39. Pin 3| is provided on the inspectorslide 30 to limit the movement of the slide in one direction. At theinner end of inspector slide 30 there is provided an inspector plate 32,which will be described in detail hereafter.

Trip lever 34 is pivoted to slide H! at 33 and is urged at its upper endagainst the outer end of the inspector slide 36 by spring 35. The lowerend of the trip lever 34 is movable into and out of the path of tripball 36, which travels in the groove of Worm 31. The worm housing 38 hasa rock arm 40 hinged thereto at 39. Rock arm 46 has a cam face 4|projecting over the worm 31 adjacent a line drawn vertically with thecenter of said worm.

Slide [8 has a guide head 42 in which there is threaded a sleeve 43slidably engaging the gauging rod 44, the axis of said rod 44 being inline with the axis of the cartridge case to be gauged. It is to beunderstood that other forms of gauging rods and connections may be used,such as shown in the patent to Candee, No. 1,783,404 (Fig. 3). Gauginglever 46 is pivoted between the blocks 45 held by the head member 42.Gauging lever 46' may have a hardened plug 41 in the end adjacent thegauging plate. A gauging plate '48 may be fastened to the gauging lever46, the end of said gauging plate being maintained in contact with theend of gauging rod 44 by spring 49. Adjusting screw 56 is provided onthe lever for varying the position of gaugin plate 48 as desired. Thegauging lever 46 is so constructed that the movement of the arm, whichis operably positioned by the cartridge, is multiplied greatly at theouter plu end 41 of the gauging lever.

Plate 32 has an aperture or opening 60 therein, which cooperates withthe end 41 of the lever 46. After the gauging rod 44 has been movedtoward a cartridge by movement of slide l8, slide 19 is moved toward theend of the gauging rod. If the cartridge has the correct dimensions, end41 of the lever 46 will enter the aperture 66 of the gauging plate 32 asslide l9 moves to the right.

7 In the event one of the dimensions of the cartridge isv in error, theend 41 of the lever will be moved so that it will engage plate 32' andprevent movement thereof to the right with slide 19. As agresult,movement of slide 30 relative to slide l9 will cause a rocking of thetrip arm 34 so that ball 36 will be thrown to the other side of theworm. Further movement of the ball by the worm will cause it to contactthe rock arm 40 and through'this operation actuate the dischargemechanism.

Adjacent each of the inspecting stations is a chute 5! through table II.One wall of this chute is closed by a hinged gate 52., said gate beingoperable by push rod 53; which is connected to rock arm 40. When thegate is in its normal position, such as shown in Fig. 2, the cartridgewill ride thereover to the next station as it is transferred. If, forsome reason, the preceding cartridge is sub-standard, ball 36 will havebeen moved over so that rock arm 40 is operated and. the gate 52 opened.Thus, the sub-standard cartridge will be. removed at. this point to asuitable receptacle.

In the adjustment and. setting of the present machine, the plate 32 withaperture 60 therein, forms. a critical elementyinasmuch as coopera tionwith lever 41 will govern the. operation of the discharge mechanism.Referring to Fig. 3, one .fo'rm of construction of the inspector plate32v may comprise av cover plate 16 engagingjbody 11. Body 11 is fastenedto the inspector slide 36 in any suitable manner. Theplate 18 has theS-s'lot '63 therein anda beveled edge 19, which is 4 engaged by coverplate 16. A washer may be provided. The plate 18 includes aperture 60,which is defined by the resiliently mounted tongues 6| and 62, theS-shaped slot 63 serving to define the two tongues. It is obvious thatthe slot can be other than S-shaped and that one tongue only can beprovided, if desired. Screws 64 and 65 are threadedly engaged into thebody 11. Screws 64 and 65 have a tapered portion 61 and 68 respectively.If, upon adjusting the machine, it is found that the aperture 60 is solarge that it gives too great a tolerance in the measured articles,taper screws 64 and 65 may be turned inwardly so as to cause theresilient tongues to approach each other, the margins of the aperturethus approaching each other, as shown in thedotted lines at 69, Fig. 5.In this manner, the device is easily adjusted for the purpose ofchanging tolerance limits. The adjusting screws of the invention alsoprovide a means which can be used, if desired, for changing the relativeposition of the center of the aperture'as shown in Fig. 6. If the uppermovement of the lever is incorrect, it is possible to adjust the upperscrew only. When this is done, the center of the aperture is moved. Itis also evident that the aperture originally may be made larger thanthat required and the tapered screws employed to make the aperture thedesired size. this is done, if it is found that the center of the plateis incorrect, it is possible to loosen one screw and tighten the otherso as to maintain the size of the aperture constant, and thus shift theaxis of the aperture thereof upwardly or downwardly. Because ofthemultiplication of movement by lever 46, the adjustment takes place wherethe movement is greatest, and as a result, the machine is easier to set.

What is claimed is:

1. In an article gauging machine; a lever positionedin accordance withthedimension of an article; a movable support and plate thereon, saidplate having resiliently mounted margins defining an aperture; means tochange the position of said margins relative to each other, enablingadjustment of size and position of said aperture relative to the axis ofmovement of said support and plate; means to rectilinearly move saidsupport and plate toward and away from one end of' said lever in apredetermined path, the extent of movement thereof being determined byposition of said lever in relation to the margins defining the aperture;and means operable by movement of said plate to separate standard fromsub-standard articles.

2. In an article gauging machine; a lever 0;

sitioned angularly in accordance with the dimension of an article beinggauged; a movable, support and platev thereon, said plate havingresiliently mounted margins defining an aperture; taper screw meansadapted to change the position of'saidi margins relativeto each otherand V to theaxis of movement of said, plate; means to When tongues so asto change the position and size of said aperture relative to the axis ofmovement of the movable inspector; means to move said inspector in apredetermined path toward and away from said end of said lever, theaperture being adapted to slip over the end of the lever when the leveris positioned by a standard article, and said inspector being restrainedin movement when the lever is positioned by a sub-standard article; andmeans operated in accordance with movement of said inspector to separatestandard and sub-standard articles.

4. In an article gauging machine; a lever having one end positioned byan article; a movable support and plate thereon, said plate having anS-shaped slot therein with margins defined by said plate; taper screwmeans in two exterior opposed legs of said S-shaped slot adapted tochange the relation of the margins of the middle leg of said slot,enabling adjustment thereof as to position and size; means to move saidsupport and plate in a predetermined path toward and away from one endof said lever, the aperture being adapted to slip over the end of thelever when the lever is positioned by a standard article, and said platebeing restrained in movement when the lever is positioned by asub-standard article; and means operated in accordance with movement ofsaid plate to separate standard and sub-standard articles.

JUDSON A. COOK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,783,404 Candee Dec. 2, 19301,634,019 Coullery June 28, 1927 1,487,803 Peterson Mar, 25, 1924Certificate of Correction Patent No. 2,422,291. June 1,7, 1947. JUDSONA. COOK It is hereby certified that error appears in the printedspecification of the above numbered patent requiring correction asfollows: Column 4, line 65, claim 2, after the word lever" and beforethe comma, insert in a predetermined path; and that the said LettersPatent should be read with this correction therein that the same mayconform to the record of the case in the Patent Ofiice.

Signed and sealed this 30th day of September, A. D. 1947.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Oommz'ssioner of Patents.

